


Leader of the pack

by thismaz



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-14
Updated: 2011-05-14
Packaged: 2017-10-19 09:44:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thismaz/pseuds/thismaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander during episode 1.06: The Pack. See title.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leader of the pack

Walking up to the school, Xander felt the eyes of the other students on him as they loitered in their groups and cliques before the bell summoned them inside. He noted the way their heads turned as he and his pack stalked past. Some gave them open, admiring stares, including a couple of Cordelia Chase's minions. Some cast surreptitious glances their way. Others took one look and decided they needed to be elsewhere, but all recognised the presence of a new power in the school and made haste to clear their path. He smiled to himself, but he didn't allow his pleasure to show. Such homage was his due, after all; he was the leader of the pack.

Kyle's attempt to establish the dominant position had lasted all of ten minutes. The guy was a coward at heart; it was never going to be a contest. Leading the group out of The Bronze the night before, Xander had turned around, straightened up and stared at each of them as they came through the door into the alley. Kyle was the only one who tried to challenge him. Their eyes had locked across a distance of three yards, with Kyle trying to both stretch himself up to look taller and also hunch his shoulders, to look wider than he was. Xander simply crossed his arms and waited. It hadn't been long before Kyle was crouching at his feet and offering his submission. Xander hadn't even needed to resort to violence to enforce the point, although he'd been tempted, for the sheer hell of it. Climbing the steps to the school, Xander laughed at the memory. A moment later, he heard giggling behind him as his shadows imitated him.

His mother had sensed his power too. She'd been sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a mug of coffee, when he got up, but she'd taken one look at him and some instinct had caused her eyes to widen in bleary alarm. She'd scuttled out of the room almost immediately, clutching her mug to her chest and muttering some excuse about taking a shower. He'd been itchy, uncomfortable, in that place so he hadn't hung around. He'd simply grabbed the raw steak set aside for his father's supper and left. The sun had been warm on his back as he set off on the walk to school and the itching had faded as, one by one, his pack took up their positions. By the time he reached the last corner, the four of them had formed up as a phalanx at his back.

Xander led his pack through the front door and into their territory, taking possession of the ground. No one challenged them. He sent the others off to find a comfortable place to while away the day and laughed again at their obedience. Life was certainly looking up. He knew it hadn't always been like this. He knew there had been a time when he hadn't held this position of power, but he had to think hard to remember the before, and the memories were distant and distorted.

They spent first period in front of the bleachers. He tore the lump of meat into five unequal parts, handing the smaller bits out to the others and keeping the largest for himself. Afterwards, when he'd licked his fingers clean, he lay down, Heidi nuzzling up to him for comfort since she'd had the smallest piece of the meat. He considered swatting her away for her presumption, but it was too hot and he was feeling lazy. They had none of them fed enough to need to sleep, but they weren't hungry either. Gradually the other three also curled up around him, putting him in the centre of a familial huddle. He dozed, enjoying the sun and the gentle pawing of his pack.

The rainstorm came with little warning. A flash of lightning in the west followed almost immediately by a rumble of thunder and a moment later Xander felt the first, heavy drops of rain. Extracting himself from the mass of arms and legs, he stood up and stretched. The other four shook themselves and rolled onto their feet, alert and ready. He led them towards the gym block, just as the bell rang for second period, and when they reached the building, they found the hallway full of the teaming bodies of their classmates. Rhonda and Heidi were not happy about having to leave the safety of the group to change, but Xander snarled and they obeyed him when he jerked his head towards the girls' locker room. He didn't miss Kyle's snide grin of amusement. Nor did he miss the hungry look in Tor's eyes; he felt it tickling at the back of his neck as Tor and Kyle followed him into the other locker room.

Gym class was fun. Worth getting up for. The rest of their class mates were no competition. Except Buffy. The expression on Lance's face was priceless. That was what the weak deserved and Lance was weak. Not like them. They were the strong ones and Xander was the strongest of them all.

Willow... sweet, succulent, little Willow. So eager to please, with her math tutorials and her 'I can help you with that'. So needy, it made him want to puke. Telling her what he really thought was another highlight of the day; it made him wonder why he'd waited.

Buffy's challenge, immediately following his dismissal of Willow, was disconcerting. For an instant he froze, trepidation skittering down his spine as he recognised the danger she posed to his dominion over the rest of the pack. If they sensed his concern, they'd turn on him and there was no way he was allowing that. So he laughed, knowing that they would interpret it as a dismissal of her, but Xander understood the truth: Buffy was a threat. In that moment, he knew he'd have to deal with her. Soon. And preferably alone. Once she was also beaten into accepting her place, any wounds he received in achieving her submission would be seen as badges of his prowess. Until then he needed to keep the rest of the pack away from her.

To ensure that separation he organised lunch. The piglet's initial snorts of alarm were replaced by anguished squeals when they finally tore the cage open and got it out. A short time later there was only silence, interrupted by the sharp cracking of bones and the wet tearing of flesh. As he'd expected, Tor was a messy eater and Xander licked his face clean, while he mewled his appreciation for the attention.

Inside Xander something stirred, some primal urge, but the nature of it confused him. He wanted to mate, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to fuck, or to be fucked. He looked at each of the pack in turn, the confusion swirling through his head, as he assessed the hierarchy of those below him. He didn't understand what was happening to him. Until he remembered Buffy.

She was as much a predator as he. She was strong too, like him. At once, his mind stilled. He was the pack dominant; he needed to choose a strong mate for his young. Once again he sent the pack away, while he went hunting for the only mate he wanted. Walking the corridors, he sniffed the air, searching out her scent. It wasn't difficult. That fresh, clean smell had imprinted on his mind over months. He'd find her, and they'd fight, and once he'd beaten her...

The scent trail took him past the library and eventually right back to where he'd started. As soon as he entered the classroom, he saw her. She was bent over, inspecting the remains of their meal. He watched her for a moment. Maybe she was hungry too.

Quietly, he closed the door and waited for her to turn around.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in August 2008 for tamingthemuse prompt: 109 - Anguish and for fantas_magoria for the episode 'The Pack'.  
> Since hyenas are matriarchal, but Rhonda and Heidi were definitely not dominant, I'm thinking there was some cross-gender possessing going on here. I'm not sure about Tor.
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, loved and cherished, here or [at my Livejournal](http://thismaz.livejournal.com/39225.html).


End file.
